Christmas is a season to be merry and feeling good. Though this has been a pandemic year, national women's squash player Rachel Arnold is glad to have experienced many positives even if she did not end her season on a high.
The world No 39 missed a huge chance to finish with a major title following her loss in the final of the Asian Individual Championships to Hong Kong's Tong Tsz Wing in Islamabad last week.
It was a disappointing outcome for the 25-year-old as she had beaten the Hong Kong player during the first round of the Malaysian Open last month.
Rachel is, however, taking the positives from the setbacks, and is looking to next year, especially in two major events: the Commonwealth and the Asian Games.
"It was a little disappointing, losing to Tsz Wing because I had beaten her in the Malaysian Open, and I thought I had a good chance to win it," said Rachel yesterday.
"But she played really well on the day while I was just struggling to find my game.
"But after a largely inactive season last year, I'm pleased with the progress I have made this year, and I have improved a fair bit.
"I have been getting better results and getting into the later stages of tournaments, so I'm quite happy with that although I still want to achieve a higher ranking next year.
"With next year being the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, that is definitely my main focus for the year.
"Going forward, I want to do better than what I've done this year and I'm also feeling a lot more confident and doing well in big events is my goal."
For Rachel, this is also a good period to catch a break before resuming her training in preparation for the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour that resumes in the United States next year.
Unfortunately, Rachel who had just returned from Pakistan earlier this week, will have to remain in quarantine, and she will be unable to celebrate Christmas with her family.
"It's a little sad because I'll have to celebrate Christmas alone this year as I'm still in quarantine," said Rachel.
"But it's really a good time for me to catch some rest before I continue working hard on my training.
"Fortunately, we anticipated this, so I actually had an early Christmas celebration with my family before I left for Pakistan.
"And I'll also get out in time to spend New Year's Eve with them, so it will not be too bad."